Rob loves fried rice. Rob really loves chorizo and since I have learned to mix them into a breakfast concoction… he’s decided I might have magical powers. Okay, he kind of already thought that, but this breakfast is definitely his favorite thing that I’ve come up with recently.

Living in this predominately Mexican neighborhood blesses us with the best carnicerias around. Plus, I’ve been getting great produce for incredible prices and it still has me leaving the store with excitement like I just won something (I am going to do a whole post about the grocery stores another day).

I planned to make this and then managed to totally forget to buy tortillas. Even though I can practically see the market from the house, I decided to make them. I have had this on my “to try” list for too long and the supplies to make them are too easy. So, Happy Tuesday my friends…

We’ll start with the fried rice.

Breakfast Chorizo Fried RiceMakes enough for 3 hungry adults

Here’s what you need:
1/2 lb. chorizo (the real stuff – do not use regular pork sausage flavored to taste like chorizo. Trust me.)
2 c. cooked white rice
1 chopped onion
1 chopped bell pepper
5 eggs
1 bunch chopped cilantro, for garnish and deliciousness
1/2 c. shredded cheese or enough to sprinkle over the top at the end

How to:
I start by cooking the chorizo. You want to make sure that you get this cooked really well.

Once the chorizo is just about cooked, I add in onion and bell pepper (I forgot the pepper this time).

Once the onion starts to get translucent and the bell pepper looks soft, I add the rice. This is jasmine rice because that’s what I keep around the house – but you can use any kind of rice that you want. Brown rice works great too.

Incorporate the rice to the chorizo and veggies right away. Then let the rice sit on medium to high heat in the pan so that you can get the rice to crisp up, stirring occasionally.

Once the rice has had time to get cozy with the chorizo, I create a hole in the middle to make the eggs and add just a touch of olive oil.

Then start pouring in your eggs and cook them just like regular scrambled eggs inside of this little hole.

I like to cook the eggs like this mostly because you don’t have to dirty another pan and keeping the meal all in one place the whole way through is just so much easier.

Just before the eggs are totally finished, stir the eggs into the chorizo and rice.

Sprinkle it all with cheese, turn off the heat and put a lid on it so that the cheese can melt and incorporate into it all. Yum. This step is crucial because the best kind of cheese is almost always the melted kind (grilled cheese, macaroni and cheese… you get where I’m goin’ here).

Dish it up! Garnish it with amazing homemade tortillas (recipe is below!) and lots of cilantro. I took the picture below before the dish was cilantroed. Yum. I’m getting hungry again just recapping the awesomeness.

Tortilla time!

I don’t know what is specifically “Texas” about these – but they are delicious and I can basically guarantee that they are better for us than the tortillas that we buy full of lard or preservatives (even though they are delicious too). I have been wanting to make tortillas for a long time. Hot delicious tortillas just sound amazing, don’t they? I made these the night before and heated them up again for our breakfast and they were just as great. You need to make these.

Texas Flour Tortillas (Adapted and doubled from the recipe found at: HomeSickTexan)
Here’s what you need:

Cover your hands with flour and scoop the ball out of the bowl and knead for two minutes on a floured surface. Dough should be firm and soft.
Place dough in a bowl and cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap for 20 minutes.

After the dough has rested, break off 12 sections, roll them into balls in your hands, place on a plate and then cover balls with damp cloth or plastic wrap for 10 minutes. (It’s very important to let the dough rest, otherwise it will be like elastic and won’t roll out to a proper thickness and shape.)

After dough has rested, one at a time place a dough ball on a floured surface, pat it out into a four-inch circle, and then roll with a rolling pin from the center until it’s thin (almost translucent – I forgot to get a photo of this because my hands were covered in dough) and about eight inches in diameter. (If you roll out pie crusts you’ll have no problem with this.) Don’t over work the dough, or it’ll be stiff. Keep rolled-out tortillas covered until ready to cook.
In a dry iron skillet or comal heated on high, cook the tortilla about thirty seconds on each side. It should start to puff a bit when it’s done.

Keep cooked tortillas covered wrapped in a napkin until ready to eat – or they disappear too quickly and that’s why you have to make a double batch. :)

Can be reheated in a dry iron skillet, over your gas-burner flame or in the oven wrapped in foil.
While you probably won’t have any leftovers, you can store in the fridge tightly wrapped in foil or plastic for a day or so.

Ah – there you have it – our favorite breakfast option, for now. What special breakfast do you love to make?